Please Ask For: FOI Enquiries

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Please ask for: FOI Enquiries

Freedom of Information Act 2000
Ref No: FOI-1516-1115
1. Do you directly employ Care & Support Workers? [If NO skip to (18)] / yes
2. Do they undertake Sleep-In work? [If NO skip to (6)] / No
3. Is it your policy that there are circumstances in which this constitutes 'Time Work' for the purposes of calculating National Minimum Wage? [ If NO skip to (5)] / No
4. What are these circumstances?
5. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)? Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was decided.
6. Do your employees undertake 'Live-In' work? [If NO skip to (10)] / No
7. Is it your policy that there are circumstances when they are eligible for NMW? [If NO skip to (9)]
8. What are these circumstances?
9. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)? Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was decided.
10. Do any of your employees get 'Premium Rates' at particular times or on particular days (e.g. Bank Holidays, over-time, unsocial hours etc.)? [If NO skip to(12)] / Yes
11. Under what circumstances? / Working shifts, weekends and bank holidays
12. Please provide data of 'Premium Rates' historically available to these staff; what the rates were under what circumstances and when their eligibility for these rates began and ended. / 1.Postholder works an agreed and rotating pattern of hours over the week(s); and contractual hours include time BEFORE 0730 AND after 1830; hours vary week to week as part of a planned rota;
15% enhancement added to basic salary covers all days including weekends
2. Postholder works an agreed and rotating pattern of hours over the week(s); and contractual hours include time BEFORE 0730 OR after 1830; hours vary week to week as part of a planned rota;
10% enhancement added to basic salary covers all days including weekends
Postholder works an agreed fixed and regular pattern of hours over a week and 30% or more of the contractual hours fall EITHER before 0730 OR after 1830:
6% enhancement for all hours worked on weekdays (Mon- Fri)
Hours worked Saturday / Sunday paid at time and half (weekend working forms part of normal working week)
13. Please provide data of the average hourly rate of front-line Care & Support staff (not inclusive of Team Leaders or above) at this time and historically, as best as you are able. / £10 per hour [ approx.]
14. Is the pay of these staff (including such things as sleep-in-rates) subject to a Collective Bargaining arrangement involving unions? / Yes – National agreements
15. Which unions? / Unison, Unite and GMB
16. Have you sought advice from HMRC, ACAS or the Dept. of BIS regarding any of these arrangements (with special regard to sleep-in and live-in rates)? / No as these are national negotiated agreements.
17. Please provide the content of these communications / N/A
18. Do you Commission other organisations to provide Care & Support services? [If NO ignore the remainder of these questions] / Yes
19. Do you contractually require these organisations to pay National Minimum Wage? [If NO skip to (24)] / No. They are part of general terms that agencies will meet all legal and statutory requirements in British law.
20. Do your contracts define the understanding of National Minimum Wage under which the company is expected to operate (such as the circumstances in which sleep-in or live-in workers are eligible for NMW)? / No. They are part of general terms that agencies will meet all legal and statutory requirements in British law.
21. What do you do to ensure the contract is robust (e.g. punitive clauses in the case of a breach)? / We have default clauses within all contracts
22. What do you do to monitor adherence to this contractual obligation once the service is 'live'? / We have both a contract monitoring and Quality Assurance framework and process in place.
23. What are your policies/procedures for handling a report of breach of contract in this regard? / We would investigate and require any agency to amend practices. This would follow our default process.
24. Do you commission other organisations to carry out 'Live-In' work? / Yes
25. For this ‘Live-In’ work: any information you hold as to what proportion of the fee you pay to the contracted company is actually paid to the worker. / We do not hold this information.

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If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:

Head of Legal and Democratic Services, Southampton City Council, Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LT; Email: , Fax: 023 8083 2308

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If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Tel: 0303 123 1113, Fax: 01625 524510, Email: